Absolution
by RedRogueRose
Summary: This is my first story, so be gentle with reviews. It's three years since Rogue left the X-men, and Remy LeBeau, when she suddenly runs into an old friend, at exactly the same moment the world is shaken by a horrific event.
1. Spirits

_This is my first story so please be kind, I welcome reviews. I don't own the X-men. Enjoy..._

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Absolution

It had been almost three years since she'd left. Happily acquainting herself with no one, and getting into more fights than any twenty-one year old female should, she'd all but driven her reasons for leaving out of her mind...All but the love she still bitterly felt for his sorry arse. Almost three years and here she was, full circle, sitting in front of the man who'd brought her to the X-men, found her, in fact, in a similar situation to this one.

"How long you been on the run kid?" The Canadian husked, leisurely sitting down and ordering two beers. The waiter looked hesitantly at the young girl who was just taking her seat, but a feral growl from the burly man silenced any queries about her age.

Rogue smirked " Ya ain't changed much have ya sugah?"

Logan mock frowned "What, were you expecting me to have grey hair Rogue?" She felt a laugh bubble, God it had been so long since she'd laughed properly, so she let it bubble over. As she continued, her laugh became borderline hysterics, eventually gushing into tears that racked her whole body. Logan, now glad he'd picked a secluded corner away from preying eyes, shifted his chair closer and rapped two hulking arms around her tiny frame.

"Let it out kid..." The waiter appeared with their beers, and cast a worried glance at Rogue...

"Is she al..."

"Non o' your business bub" Logan said, without looking up. When the waiter still hovered uncertainly, Logan told him to get a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses and then he could fuck off.

_Two Hours Later..._

"Why did mah bastard powers 'ave ta be so gods damned sucky!" There was a drunken pause before the pair realised her pun and erupted into raucous laughter. It was eight in the evening now, so the racket they made was lost in the cacophony of bar noise, lucky too, as Logan had yet to discover if this bar was mutant friendly or not, and for Rogue's sake, he'd keep it that way, for now at least. He turned to her as the laughter died down.

"Huh huh...So strips, where you been staying? You look rough as hell kiddo" Though he kept the worry from reaching his face, inside it was eating him up. He should've been there when she needed him. Wouldn't have stopped her from going mind but maybe she would've let him go with her.

"Here, there, floor, car seat...Anywhere really sugah" She smiled drunkenly at him, but he could see it didn't reach her eyes. His mind, completely sober now due to his damn mutation, decided he was gonna take damn good care of her, whether she liked it or not.

"You got a place t' stay tonight?" The southern girl shook her head. "You're staying at mine then, don't argue, there's no point"

That slow drunken smile spread into a genuine grin across her beautiful face. "Always there for meh, ain't ya Logan" Slightly embarrassed by her prolonged gaze, Logan gave only a gruff mumble and then yelled at a passing waiter for the bill, if they stayed any longer, Rogue might get even mushier, and that was something he just could not handle.

As he helped her stumbling form back to his apartment, he became acutely aware that they were being followed. Keeping pace, he sniffed the air and caught a very unwelcome scent. He wondered how long he'd been following her, and why he hadn't approached earlier. Logan had to hand it to the boy, it wasn't easy for someone to get under his radar for so long without being picked up on; he must have been close by all night. At any rate, he wasn't making himself known, or causing trouble, so Logan thought best to leave it for now, and just get the now slur singing Rogue home.

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Remy LeBeau watched silently as Wolverine carried a very drunk Rogue down the icy, winter road. His heart gave a familiar, painful tug as memories of drunken nights he'd spent with her, tried to flood their way into his conscience. Her rough, loud, beautiful laugh, kissing those full soft lips, lying her down on the bed, naked...Sighing, he summoned the strength to push them back. She didn't want him, didn't love him, not any more at least, not after what she'd seen in his head. He couldn't blame her, and fully respected her decision to leave, but after eight agonising months without her, he decided to follow, to what purpose he couldn't say, he just had to find her. She'd disappeared better than he thought she would, it took him a long time, he had to utilise a lot of his skills as a thief before he tracked down where she was. That was two weeks ago. Sighing heavily again he moved to a better viewing point, making no noise still.

He froze when he saw Logan incline his head up and sniff. Damn it, he should've been more careful, he'd moved straight into the wind flow. He waited for Wolverine to make his move; instead however, he just kept walking. Curious thought the Cajun, very curious. It was then he heard her singing, his heart swelled and he chuckled quietly, '_Damn de fille must be drunk'. _Damn de fille, that fille, that damned woman who had the Cajun's heart so firmly in her clutches. Everyday he found a part of himself asking '_What de hell d'you tink ya doing homme? De old Remy would never let a fille force him half the way over de world!' _No, the old Remy wouldn't, and sometimes the old Remy would rear his horny head and find some bar, get drunk, get a slutty fille and bang her into next Wednesday...and regret it heavily the next day. Much as it conflicted against his natural character, he loved her. So, here he was, Canada, in the middle of winter freezing his ass off...for her.

He had to make a decision now, whether to accept that she'd be safe with Logan and go away, or, seeing as Logan knew he was here anyway, make himself known to her. He chose the latter but decided to wait until she'd most definitely be up; Logan would be free to skin him alive otherwise, and he was hoping she'd at least save him from that. Mind made up, he followed Logan, at a distance, to his home then finding a dry spot between some Redwoods, settled down for the night. His heart pounded in anticipation at the thought of seeing her again, and it was many hours until he finally got off to a restless sleep.

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_Let me know what you think, like I said, please be kind, I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Thanks._


	2. Dawn

_Next chapter up, thank you for the reviews :) keep um coming. I don't own the x-men, enjoy..._

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Dawn:

Rogue felt groggy and disorientated as she slowly woke up. It was still dark so she figured it was fairly early; she never could sleep well after drinking. She sat up and groaned loudly as the hangover made itself known, pounding at the inside of her head like a jackhammer, Christ almighty she needed water. Rogue got up and slowly made her way to Logan's kitchen, luckily her memory hadn't been impaired much from the night before, in fact as she rounded the corner, into the kitchen and saw the sink her stomach flipped unpleasantly, remembering how she'd spent about half an hour last night, throwing up in it. Stealing herself against the window sill, she waited for the sick feeling to pass.

It was almost dawn outside; the soft light blue colours hazed the horizon before giving way to a blanket of faint stars, clinging to the fading night sky. Rogue turned away, watching the noticeable passage of time was not a happy thing for her, it reminded her of how lonely she was, drifting farther and farther away from a time when she was unbelievably happy...and in love. Quietly she routed around for a glass or mug; Logan's kitchen was surprisingly organised she thought upon finding various clean glasses, all stacked together neatly in a cupboard.

She turned for the sink and stopped dead, dropping the glass instantly. Had she not been in such shock, she would've wondered why the glass hadn't smashed on the floor, but with Remy LeBeau standing centimetres away from her, she had little room in her head for wondering about such things.

'_SLAP' _

Remy's head snapped left, but he didn't stumble, he just looked back at her with those demon eyes, pleading, waiting...

"...Get out..." She cursed her voice for not being stronger; the quaking whisper that came out did nothing for her resolve.

"Chérie...plea..."

"NO! You don't get to call me that ever again you bast...!" Remy clamped a hand over her mouth frantically, panic invading his eyes.

"Keep your voice down at least che-Rogue, please...I don't want Logan here just yet, not until I've said my piece" He waited for her to show some sign of resignation. Slowly she relaxed, though her eyes were visibly wet and she hung her head, refusing to look at him. His chest tugged painfully, where to begin? He pulled away from her and went to the sink, filling the glass he'd caught with water, then turning back he left it on the side, for her to take if she wished.

"Rogue...Ah know sorry won't cover what ah hid from you...but ah am, ah'm so sorry chérie" Still she kept her head down, not giving him any sign as to how she was taking this. _Merde dis is hard. _He carefully moved closer and cupped her face in his gloved hands, willing her to look at him. She flinched but let him, finally raising her eyes to his.

"What did ya expect Remy? That I'd just willingly forgive ya? Don't you think I'd have gone back if that were the case?" She tried to keep the tremble from entering her whisper. "God damn it Remy how could you! All those girls, all those one night stands? And Belladonna? When the fuck were ya gonna tell me about her? Never! Don't say otherwise, I saw it in your filthy head swamp rat!" She threw his hands off and stormed passed him; Remy just managed to catch her arm pulling her back.

"Did you see nothing worth staying for?" She opened her mouth to say no...but something caught. Had she really not seen how he felt about her? He knew it was real and forever at the forefront of his mind, his coming here proved that surly...didn't it?

"I saw...it didn't matter..."

"Please, I have to know, it matters to me...did you know how I felt?" He watched as her tears finally began to fall.

"Yes..." She began to sob uncontrollably. Remy pulled her to him and held her, rocking her slightly; out of the corner of his eye he caught movement, his head whipped round and spotted Logan leaning on against the wall by the door. _Merde how long's he been dere?" _Remy locked eyes with Logan, not once breaking his rocking rhythm with Rogue; just as he felt his nerve bending the old Canadian sighed and silently left the room. Remy figured he'd get it later when Rogue wasn't around.

Her sobs were softening, and Remy felt her pull out of his embrace, he let her without resistance. Folding her arms defensively she asked "Why did you come here Remy?"

"To explain myself, to see if you maybe still felt something for me...even take me back..."

Rogue sighed and turned to look outside again, the sun was just swimming above the horizon...She was tired, tired of fighting back the tidal wave of memories that flooded her head every time the slightest thing reminded her of him, tired of running and hiding, tired of the aching loneliness...tired of missing him...Her heart hadn't stopped racing since he'd shown himself, she still loved him, and in truth she could forgive him in a single racing heart beat...but...she was stubborn. Her resolve was slipping though, the more she looked into those redblack eyes, the more her whole being wanted to pounce on him, rip his clothes off and make love till tomorrow dawn. He deserved to know how she felt...she decided the rest was up to him, she would go along with whatever he did next.

She turned back to face him and took a deep breath before starting.

"I still love you, I never stopped, and I could forgive you...if I could maybe forget or get a reason why...help meh forget Remy, I'm begging ya...pleas..." He swept forwards and had her in a deep embrace before she could finish.

"I need to ask yer somt'ing Rogue" He muffled into her hair "before we go any further...your powers...are they still...I mean besides me of course, dem coming back after we t'ought the cure'd worked isde reason pour all dis" Rogue shifted uncomfortably, only because it was difficult explaining something she wasn't 100% sure of herself.

"Because the cure originated from a mutant, instead of it dissipating, like with mostly all the other mutants who got the cure...I think I absorbed it, all of it...I don't know how Remy but it gave meh control..." Remy pulled back in shock, he hadn't expected this at all. He wasn't sure what to do now...so he let instinct take over.

His lips were on hers faster than either could think. Rogue moaned hungrily, giving in to the hot, sweet, long awaited kiss, pulling him closer so that her half naked body moulded against his. Remy hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist; they broke for air before diving back in, ravenously devouring each other's lust, letting out three years of pent up frustration and love, all in this one kiss. As Remy turned to place her on the kitchen counter though, three simultaneous things happened to ruin the much needed reunion.

The glass of water Remy had placed on the side was knocked off and smashed on the floor before he could stop it this time.

Logan raged in, evidently Remy had taken it one step too far and he was gonna get that skinning.

Rogue's arse hit the TV remote that had been lying on the side, and the morning news blared into life on the kitchen TV, for everyone to see...and watch they did.

_'Back to our main story, Frank' 'Thank you Helen, the story sweeping today's front pages, is that of the numerous mysterious mutant deaths around the world. Seemingly overnight, 10'000 mutants spanning across the globe, have been murdered, some in broad daylight, others in crowded areas, and we have confirmation that at least 500 were children. The killings were done quickly and professionally it seems, leaving no trace and only a thin but long stab wound to the heart. As of yet no one has come forward to claim the killings, but it is believed to be a highly trained organisation, mutant or human, no one can say, but it has spiked out breaks of violence across the world today, including within the carbonate. Senator official for mutant kind, Hank Macoy, was seen threatening numerous other members of the carbonate this morning and it is believed that he had to be removed by force. As of yet, it is believed that no more killings have taken place, but we will be sure to keep you posted. It's fair to say that everyone, is on high alert this morning, thank you, now Tom with the weather...'_

Rogue switched the TV off, and looked around to see the two men wore exactly the same expression as she did, confused, angry, and fiercely worried. Inside she felt numb..._confirmed that 500 were children..._Just when things had appeared to be calming down. This was monstrous, what organisation was out there that could commit these heinous crimes?

Remy on the other hand had a pretty damn good idea of who could do this; he just really didn't want to believe it. But in his heart of hearts he knew that if offered enough, they would, no matter what the consequences. If he was correct, then they had to move, and move now. He had few safe houses set up just in case something like this ever occurred...though he never imagined _this _would happen, who could? He felt relief wash through him that Rogue was with him, she was safest that way; he knew them, knew how they moved, thought, lived, more importantly, he knew how to beat them, knew he could. He needed to make a few phone calls, set up travel for two, no wait, Logan! urgh god damn it! This was such a mess. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and told himself to calm down.

"We need to leave" He said simply. Logan grunted in agreement, Rogue said nothing, too shell shocked to think clearly. He took her hands gently, but firmly before continuing. "Does anyone here know you're a mutant Wolverine?"

"Not to my knowledge bub, never told no one, kept a low profile, easier to live peacefully that way." Remy nodded, thinking. Good that would make their getaway much easier, no one had even seen him outside of the people in this house meaning they could slip away quite easily without anyone really noticing or giving a crap. Remy swung into action.

"Make sure your trucks full o' gas homme, den come back, pack light and be ready to leave in an hour. You got any spare cloths I could borrow, help moi fit in better?" If this hadn't been such a serious situation he was sure Logan would have had his head for such a comment, as it was, he merely said "I'll check when I get back" then took off to fill his truck up with gas. Remy turned back to Rogue; her face was ashen, and he suddenly noticed how tightly she was gripping his hands.

"Chérie..." Startled she looked at him like a doe caught in headlights before relaxing her grip a little. "Do you have any cloths wid ya chère?"

She nodded slowly, "Ah got a duffel bag in de spar room I slept in...it's yours actually...sorry"

Remy chuckled "S'quite alright, I'm sure it enjoyed de ride" she smiled weakly, before sliding off the counter top, and into his arms.

"Who would do this?" Remy's change in demeanour did not go unnoticed to her; his face grew cold and bitter, and his body stiffened against hers.

"I have an idea, but till I know for sure, I'm not gonna say" Again she couldn't do much but nod numbly. He pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm gonna protect you chère, not'ing an' no one is gonna harm you, d'accord?" She gripped him, burying herself in his chest. Remy left her a little while after to go pack, and get previsions. When he was gone Rogue turned around to face the kitchen window for the third time this morning...How could so much have happened in the space of the rising sun?


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